Season Review Part VI: Chris Duhon

Count me among the large contigent of Blog-a-Bull-ers who scream in frustration every time Duhon enters the game.  So am I right to point the finger at Duh?  Just how bad is he?

In terms of PER, Duh only recorded an 11.9 down from 12.9 the previous season.  In terms of PW%, Duh had a .693 slightly better than Gordon.  Which is a feather in the cap for those that believe Duhon is an effective backup PG.  However Duh only had 6.8 combined PW and Player Losses compared to Gordon's 12.8.  That means while Duh had the higher PW%, Gordon had nearly twice the impact of Duhon in only 800 more minutes (1906/2704).  That explains why this system still  indicates that Gordon is the much better player, despite the similar PW%.  Reflected in that PW% is his above-average defense, although he has a nasty habit of fouling jump shooters.  And that while he doesn't do much to help a team offensively, he also doesn't do much to hurt a team.  Let's be honest he doesn't do much period.  He's had a usage rate of 15.2 the last two seasons.  The biggest issue with Duhon is that while Hinrich, Gordon, Deng, and Noc have all improved, Duhon hasn't.  His assist rate has declined every year, his turnvoer rate hasn't improved, and his shooting hasn't improved.  He actually shoots worse on 2 point jumpers than 3 point jumpers (31.6 versus 35.9).  Which means it's actually good he only took 79 of them last season compared to 245 3 pointers.

Statistically Duhon isn't a horrible player.  He isn't even a bad player.  I belive he could be very effective starting for the Lakers and the Cavs.  Teams with a superstar that dominates the ball in need of a defensive PG content to wait for kickout 3s.  He's just a really bad fit for the Bulls.  Duhon is a classic backup PG, but he can't backup Hinrich because that means the great 6'1" tandem of Duhon and Gordon.  And he can't backup Gordon because that keeps Hinrich defending the SG, and makes it even worse by moving Hinirch to the SG on offense where he is less effective.  It also appears Duhon needs a true scorer at the SG in order to make up for his lack of scoring.  The team was much better with the Duhon/Gordon backcourt than Duhon/Hinrich backcourt.  (That Duhon-Hinrich-Deng-Noc-Wallace starting lineup may have been the worst Skiles could have put out there.  Two guys who can't shoot on the floor with the only guy who can create his own shot on the bench = 38.2 Win%, especially since that same lineup with Gordon for Hinrich = 65.0 Win%)  Still the biggest problem with Duhon isn't his fault.  It's that Skiles will always play him along as he is around.  So Pax please trade him, or in the spirit of the last couple of days send both Gordon and Hinrich to the Lakers for Kobe.